In the gutter
Monday, Jan 7, 2008 - Posted by Rich Miller
* The rhetoric in the 14th Congressional district Republican primary is going way over the top. From a Jim Oberweis press release…
“When is career politician Chris Lauzen going to ‘man up’ and come clean with the voters of the 14th District regarding his recent announcement that he plans to return $100,000 in tainted campaign contributions he took, over a period of ten years, from a convicted felon and the firm he heads?
“Two weeks ago, Mr. Lauzen announced he was going to give back $100,000 in tainted campaign cash,” said Pascoe. “He claimed then that while he previously knew of the donor’s own criminal conviction, he was unaware of the ethical and legal concerns surrounding the donor’s company — and, in fact, remained unaware until he recently got an email from 15 businessmen who laid out the company’s ongoing troubles.
“Sadly, this statement does not square with the facts as publicly known. On December 27, 2007 — five days after Mr. Lauzen’s announcement was first reported in the Beacon News — the Beacon News revealed that, contrary to Mr. Lauzen’s assertions, he had been made aware of his donor’s company’s legal troubles almost TWO YEARS EARLIER than he had acknowledged.
“Mr. Lauzen’s announcement, as we pointed out before Christmas, raises more questions than it answers. This new information revealing that Mr. Lauzen was publicly upbraided almost two years ago for taking this tainted money raises the bar even further. Mr. Lauzen should release the email he claims he received from the 15 businessmen, and should come clean by revealing now exactly what he knew and when he knew about his donor’s troubled past - and what has changed between now and almost two years ago, when he first was made aware?
* To which Lauzen replied…
“Jim, you’ve left me no choice but to respond to your campaign’s negative attacks. From now on, I will not sit idly by and allow you to mislead the voters.
“The voters only need to look at Team Oberweis’ campaign rhetoric and public statements to realize full well that Jim is ignoring Denny Hastert’s desire to have his endorsed candidate run a positive campaign. In fact, it is rather difficult to find anything but scathing attacks on me that have nothing to do with the issues. […]
“Jim, to quote your political mercenary, it’s time for you to ‘man up’ and gain control of your campaign. Stop hiding behind your attack-dog consultants and let the voters figure out who is most ready and prepared to lead. If you are unable or unwilling to confront me yourself, say so and explain why.”
* So far, the back and forth has generated little to no earned media and the candidates aren’t taking this message to the voters via their paid media…
Some of Oberweis’ and Lauzen’s attacks on each other are the same, down to the capitalization in the press releases. An Oct. 30 press release from Oberweis called Lauzen part of “the Establishment Insiders.” A Dec. 13 Lauzen press release said Oberweis was trying to buy “Insider Establishment clout.”
Whether the “Establishment Insiders” or the “Insider Establishment” are attacks that will resonate with the voters is to be seen. Those messages are not being presented directly to the voters, but to the news media.
The four TV commercials that Oberweis has broadcast deal with immigration, finances, the Oberweis family dairy, and Midwestern values. None of them reference Lauzen or any other candidate.
Likewise, Lauzen plans commercials based on his platform, not attacks.
“The theme … [is] about integrity, service and a philosophy that there ought to be limits on government, a person that will not enrich himself and his family on his service,” Lauzen said.
* Lauzen has clearly developed more detailed issue positions than Oberweis, and Lauzen was recently endorsed by former US Sen. Peter Fitzgerald. The big question remains how much of his own money that Oberweis will spend and whether he can get away with these attacks without attracting the notice of too many voters.
* But Lauzen is famous for his ground game…
Early reports are that between 500 and 600 grassroots supporters of State Senator Chris Lauzen jammed into the Aurora Christian High School where they were energized to knock on doors and get Lauzen supporters to the polls February 5.
* Meanwhile, Democrats are taking notice…
Lets hope they beat the crap out of each other and that things get really really nasty.
This should be lots of fun to watch.
- Carl Nyberg - Monday, Jan 7, 08 @ 11:34 am:
I can cheer Republicans losing Congressional seats, but let’s be realistic about the Democrats.
A big chunk of the Dem establishment has said they’d give the seat to the GOP before they’d lift a finger to help John Laesch.
Bill Foster has trouble closing the sale with Democratic activists.
- Bill Baar - Monday, Jan 7, 08 @ 11:44 am:
We can thank Hastert for this.
If Oberweis gets the nod from GOP voters, Hastert’s manipulation here is going to dog him.
It’s a bad legacy to have left.
I need to driver further south and west in the district, but right now my sense counting yard signs (on real yards vs along the road and in front of businesses) is Lauzen and Laesch have the “grass roots” of their respective parties.
Both in my opinion have more thoughout viewpoints and a clash between them a lot more informative than one between Foster and Oberweis.
Oberweis has the added handicap of disliking the immigrant part of illegal immigration. That’s a real handi cap for a party that should be learning a little spanish to speak to voters who are often cultural conservatives and, as folks moving between Latin America and North America, would benefit from portable entitlements like personal SSA accounts, and Medical Savings accounts.
- Ghost - Monday, Jan 7, 08 @ 11:50 am:
I am never impressed with these “bad money” campaign attacks. If the only negative you have on a canidate is that somone who gave them money is a bad person, no big deal. Link the money to some quid pro quo government action by the official and yah have a sotry, otherwise its a big meh from me.
That said Lauzens response was horrible. Its whiney, “please dont say bad things about me” tone just reads bad. ALso he really works to throw in a comment and drag on his sniveling over not getting Hasterts endorsement. What he really needed was a more polished response answering this whole tainted momney thing as a red herring that reflects nothing about his political positions, site a few of the positions he has outlined and where oberwiess has none, and call oberweiss for lacking any substance.
He needs a better campaign manager, or needs to vet his comment better.
- YNM - Monday, Jan 7, 08 @ 11:53 am:
Any campaign that involves Oberweis is fun to watch … not necessarily good for the appetite, but entertaining nonetheless.
I guess Lauzen is a career politician and Oberweis is quickly becoming a career wannabe.
- Pat collins - Monday, Jan 7, 08 @ 1:05 pm:
Why do politicians EVER give back the money?
Whatever happened to “if you give me money that doesn’t mean I endorse you. It means you endorse me”.
- Squideshi - Monday, Jan 7, 08 @ 1:20 pm:
It turned into “if you give me money that doesn’t mean I endorse you. It means you own me.”
- Six Degrees of Separation - Monday, Jan 7, 08 @ 1:32 pm:
Vanilla Man said it best.
Sad!
The GOP is wanting voters to choose between a guy who has lost millions in office and a guy who has lost millions trying to get in office.
I think a coin toss ought to do it in this case.
Carl’s comment about the D’s in the 14th can be expanded a little bit. Laesch has some “grass roots” but would have difficulty selling himself to the majority of voters in the general. Foster probably would have a better shot in the general, but seems to have difficulty getting traction with the likely primary voters.
As a non-resident of the 14th, it’ll all be fun to watch nonetheless.
- Bill Baar - Monday, Jan 7, 08 @ 2:37 pm:
The GOP is wanting voters to choose between a guy who has lost millions in…
Not lose, just not earn that kind of money out of public service.
It’s when public service is coupled with enrichment, that voters will have issues.
If Dems can’t run on Laesch’s solid progressive credentials, and Foster can’ close the deal with the roots, then I think you have to wonder about Obama’s ability to triangulate and pull off the left-center strategy come the general.
GOP sticks with honest and principled candidates who occassionally let lose about the more lucrative alternatives they could have taken besides crappy public service… I think they’ll be ok in the long run.
- Six Degrees of Separation - Monday, Jan 7, 08 @ 2:48 pm:
I appreciate what you’re saying, Bill…but when someone spends a good portion of their life as a public official and then complains about the crappy pay and drawbacks - he could’ve been a “citizen-legislator” and got out after 1 or 2 terms. One might question ones “sanity” or “vanity” in that case. I do agree many people are fed up with politicians enriching themselves (or the perception thereof) by being “in the loop”, and there is some appreciation of a politician being seen as relatively honest.
- Bill Baar - Monday, Jan 7, 08 @ 3:14 pm:
six… it wasn’t Lauzen’s greatest moment.
But when it comes to quirkiness, Lauzen, Laesch, Oberweis, and Foster are on about as level a playing ground as votes can have.
These are the candidates we’ve got.
Laesch and Lauzen have the clearest platforms.
Oberweis has demagogued immigration.
Foster told me Iraq was issue 1, 2, and 3 but now runs this ad with kids about bickering.
Politics is how civilized people bicker over issues and policy.
These quirkly four are the ones delt us in the 14th, and rather than bicker over it…
…I gotta pick one of them.
crappy as that is…
- Lefty Lefty - Monday, Jan 7, 08 @ 3:34 pm:
As a resident of the 14th, I can honestly say that I have no idea who to choose between Laesch and Foster, and I don’t think the Republicans know who to vote for, either. Ironically, Burns was probably the one with the most vote-drawing power if the millionaires club wasn’t running. (I know, a big “if.”)
Definitely entertaining to watch, no doubt about that. Did anyone catch the dust-up on Daily Kos between the Laesch and Foster supporters last month?
It’s like watching The Real World only with lives and tax dollars at stake.
- Bill Baar - Monday, Jan 7, 08 @ 3:53 pm:
…I have no idea who to choose between Laesch and Foster…
A few months ago in an interview Foster said Iraq was issue 1, 2, and 3 in the campaign.
Laesch I disagree with on Iraq, but he talked about it.
After telling me its the most important issue, Foster gives me this goofy bickering ad instead.
It wouldn’t be a hard choice for me to pick between them.
- Six Degrees of Separation - Monday, Jan 7, 08 @ 4:08 pm:
As a resident of the 14th, I can honestly say that I have no idea who to choose between Laesch and Foster, and I don’t think the Republicans know who to vote for, either.
Could there be an undervote in the Special Primary? (joke)
- Bill Baar - Monday, Jan 7, 08 @ 4:31 pm:
Could there be an undervote in the Special Primary? (joke)
People could not cast a vote there, but only the primary.
Jotham Stein (who I omitted above) made a pitch for GOP voters to vote for him in the special.
So you can have people voting one way in the special and another in the primary.
A very weird race thanks to Hastert quitting.
Here’s Stein’s website by the way.
- Lefty Lefty - Monday, Jan 7, 08 @ 4:40 pm:
I just watched the Foster “Bickering” ad. These people need to hire my wife to make iMovies for them. They’d be way more effective and much cheaper.
Only 4 weeks to go. It may come down to who doesn’t screw up as much as the other guy in that time (on both sides).
- Tiger Moth - Monday, Jan 7, 08 @ 4:48 pm:
I disagree with some of the comments that Lauzen is more clear on issues. Based on mailers received in my area of the district Oberweis is much more clear and detailed on his approach to issues and Lauzen’s have been primarily on how great his family is and his past experience without a lot of meat into the how he will deal with issues. That is equally true with seeing them in person at events. As for the negative campaigning, there too I disagree. Asking a campaign to answer questions about issues that have arised that can be looked upon questionable to that candidate’s ethics need to asked. After all the voters of this great state are trying to improve our government and we need to hold our politicans to higher standards.
- Six Degrees of Separation - Monday, Jan 7, 08 @ 5:21 pm:
Could there be an undervote in the Special Primary? (joke)
People could not cast a vote there, but only the primary.
The joke being of course that the interim 14th Rep is the only race on the Special Primary ballot. In the regular primaries, people can skip the vote for 14th Rep and it can be identified as an undervote for that race when all the results are tallied. In the Special Primary, if someone pulled a ballot and turned it in blank as a “protest” I’m not sure if it would be counted as an undervote or simply not counted at all.
- annon - Monday, Jan 7, 08 @ 5:51 pm:
when is oby going to “man-up”& realize he lose this race too. gezzz ! Ob….no one wants you
- state worker - Monday, Jan 7, 08 @ 8:26 pm:
Both of these guys are like children. One keeps trying to buy a seat in any office and the other is as out of touch as you can be. It’s not even a choice between these two.
- Wumpus - Tuesday, Jan 8, 08 @ 9:05 am:
Bi-Polarweis ™ and over the top are two things I never thought I’d hear coupled in an article!
- Lionel Hutz - Tuesday, Jan 8, 08 @ 4:32 pm:
Kevin Burns might have done himself a short-term favor by dropping out of the GOP primary, but it now is clear that he was by far the best choice. Lauzen and Oberweis are willing to do and say anything to get elected. Lord knows what they’ll do after the election. But if they keep embarrassing themselves as much as they are now, we’ll all be so very sorry. I don’t think either one of them cares as much about public service as he does about adding a title to his resume.
Kevin, can you PLEASE get back on the ballot?
- llbear - Wednesday, Jan 9, 08 @ 12:57 pm:
I have seen the new Bill Foster ads. I checked to make sure this is correct: John Laesch’s people did not produce them, did not write the scripts, and did not film them. Laesch’s campaign had nothing to do with the postcards being sent out with Foster’s name on them.
Foster hired some homeless folks from Aurora to deliver material for him. Kudos for that. Unfortunately, they all know John from his volunteer work at the shelter in Aurora, and like him a whole lot. They volunteer for John, but get paid by Bill.
- Touchdown - Wednesday, Jan 9, 08 @ 2:44 pm:
Lauzen’s attack mailer (came in yesterday’s snail mail) was both hysterically funny and typical of Lauzen. These two belong on a Village Board, not in Congress. More and more it appears that Burns was the only choice for 14th District voters.